The Language of the Flowers was a popular method to express feelings where words might be improper, but did you know other means of doing so? Some ladies used their parasols, as well as their fans, gloves, and hankies to flirt with a gentleman (or alternatively, tell them to shove it!). — Bree

“This boy, then. He wasn't new. Wasn't one of the worst people in the common room, those rotten rich boys - like Mr. Jailkeeper - who could not fathom a world beyond their own farts. Was a good working class lad, so he'd heard. Had a bit of a weird looking face, and a bit of a weird thing for preaching. Still.”

The day of the meeting with Mr. Ainsworth was upon him before Thaddeus knew it, and he felt woefully unprepared despite all evidence to the contrary. He was staring critically at his desk, which was covered in a variety of leather-bound notebooks. One in particular was jammed so full of notes and other miscellany that it could just barely be tied shut; it held the bulk of Thaddeus's research notes.

How to best explain months worth of research in a way that wasn't entirely rambling gibberish? Thaddeus was pondering this conundrum as he fished in his desk drawer for the small shaving mirror he kept for such occasions and propped it up on a stack of books so he could set himself to rights. An attempt had been made on his part to look halfway decent: Thaddeus wore a nicely tailored grey suit with a blue striped waistcoat, and had made sure everything was freshly pressed.

Maybe the fact was that he was too prepared, and that was the issue. The anxiety of waiting was an ever-preset itch under his skin, and Thaddeus paced aimlessly in front of the window after stashing the mirror. He pointedly did not look at his watch, though he wanted to; what good did watching the minutes tick by do?

After what felt like forever, a knock sounded at the door and Thaddeus felt his stomach lurch with familiar nerves. Clearing his throat, he crossed to the door and straightened up to his full height before opening it and ushering Timothy inside with a polite, "Mr. Ainsworth, how good to see you." He offered Timothy a hand to shake in greeting, firm but politely so. "Please have a seat, if you would."

Clearing his throat, Thaddeus began tentatively -- he knew a little of Mr. Ainsworth, given that they had both been in Ravenclaw for a few overlapping years, but not much to be overwhelmingly familiar with him. At least he knew that Timothy ran in similar academic circles; it gave Thaddeus hope that his request for academic criticism wouldn't seem too crazy.

"I have been doing a lot of reading on Egyptology, both magical and Muggle schools of thought. I think the public generally likes our collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts here, but that we need to have an exhibit that reflects the newest scholarship." Thaddeus added after a moment, "Plus it couldn't hurt museum attendance that the fog was caused by an Ancient Egyptian artifact--now might be the time to capitalize on that interest."

Timothy was somewhat looking forward to seeing what Mister Davies had to share with him and how he could help with it. He had a thing about being panctual, especially for things such as this. Arriving at the museum, he was directed to the office of Mister Davies and he knocked on the door. "Mister Davies, good to see you are well," Timothy said as he shook the other mans hand.

At the offer of a seat, Timothy took it, his attention on the other man. Egyptology. It made Timothy recall that horrible ordeal that came with the fog and going on the Irvingly expedition. The other man had also been a part of it but in another group, if he remembered correctly. "I rather heard enough of the fog," he couldn't help but say a little grumpily. "I suppose you're right that in time interest will be there but people might be wary. Being trapped and without magic was not the highlight of anyones summer."

October 16, 2018 – 10:23 PM This post was last modified: October 16, 2018 – 10:40 PM by Thaddeus Davies

Thaddeus sat back in his seat, one hand fussing with a bit of loose paper for a moment before stilling, watching Timothy with genuine interest. He remembered a little of Timothy from school--a stereotypical Ravenclaw much like himself, but far more taciturn that Thaddeus could ever hope to be. Perhaps that was a biased judgment, since Thaddeus presented himself as buttoned up to the average person too, but then again, Thaddeus had only ever known Timothy to be unerringly studious to the point of stodginess.

It was odd, Thaddeus considered, to be so grumpy and yet so young. Timothy was only slightly younger than him, but Thaddeus felt far older than his own years, worn down by hardship. Even Thaddeus, who was notoriously bad at fashion, had to admit that Timothy cut a fine figure by any person's standards: suit cut to the most fashionable trends and accentuating his lean, very tall figure. Perhaps he had made a mistake in asking for an opinion, and for a brief second Thaddeus considered washing his hands of everything entirely.

Raising an eyebrow in carefully conveyed amusement, Thaddeus quipped, "Witch Weekly certainly did not suffer for readership, fog notwithstanding." He was not about to let a little grumpiness get under his skin. If anything, the magazine's readership had probably increased as people sought out explanations for the fog's sudden appearance. "I think you would agree that the greatest struggle we face as academics is how to make our studies accessible to others, Mr. Ainsworth. Far be it from me to not take the chances we've been given to make things relevant to the modern-day visitor."

He pulled at the piece of loose paper he had been messing with earlier, tugging it free from the larger sketchbook and laying it out on the desk. "I had an idea for an updated exhibit that would tie together the Egyptology mania and the need for the general public to be entertained." It was a sketch of a temple, with priests magicking amulets using ivory wands. "Charmed mannequins, if you will, that would demonstrate the various things we know about Ancient Egyptian life and magic use. They would accompany our existing collection of artifacts."